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Sunday, July 6, 2008

Desert Wonders & Lego Mania!

I took a brief trip to San Diego over the July 4th holiday to beat the Phoenix heat. Along the way I stopped at the Desert View Tower, which is located just a few miles east of Jacumba. The last time I visited was 35 years ago when I was a teenager. It hasn't changed a bit. This time I took some time to really soak it all in. The place has several levels and contains interesting artifacts and works of art. The highlight for me was the vintage 1933 Jo Mora "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" poster, which he had created in honor of the California Rodeo in Salinas. I grew up with this poster and the cowboys it commemorates -- it holds a very special place in my childhood memories. Here are a few vignettes from the poster.











While in San Diego, I visited Legoland. Since the place is geared for small children and their parents, I wasn't sure what to expect, but to my surprise I found that Legoland has
something for everyone. Besides, I'm just an overgrown kid anyway, so I had a blast.


Besides the rides and usual amusement park attractions, the next best thing about Legoland has to be "Mini-land." What a trip! It's amazing what can be created using a little lego block! Here are two of my favorites. I have way too many to share here. I'm thinking about posting them on the web through Flickr or Picasa. If I do I'll come back and update this post with the URL.


San Francisco's "Painted Ladies" (I was blown away!)



Mt. Rushmore (no, the faces are not photoshopped on)